The latest issue of Jakob Nielsen's well-respected Alertbox analyzes Microsoft's .NET announcement made last week, which he describes as a "brilliant strategic move against the Justice Department." "Browsers," Nielsen declares, "must die as independent applications" as the main user interactions will in the future be mediated by network services and not by their operating systems. The article discusses how this new nexus will work and its implications for the future of the Web and online business in clear and easy-to-follow language. While some have fretted over the potential of yet another Microsoft monopoly, Nielsen does not subscribe to this line of thought. "Microsoft may define the platform," he argues, "but they cannot supply more than a tiny fraction of the necessary services" that will be called for on the new nexus. The article includes several links to related resources.